


Pledis Family Business

by AndromedaofOthys



Category: NU'EST, PRISTIN (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Emotional Constipation, Guns, Idiots in Love, Inspired by Fanart, Inspired by Twitter, Mafia AU, Multi, Slow To Update, Swords, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2020-10-28 22:48:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20786318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndromedaofOthys/pseuds/AndromedaofOthys
Summary: There were always rumors circulating in Seoul criminal underground, but there was a specific set of rumors concerning one family only: Pledis. Their operatives, their MO, their objectives... always unclear. However, there were things that weren't rumors. Solid things. Names.After School.NU'EST.Seventeen.Pristin.Four names, four groups, and four destinies, all bound by the same internal code no one but people on the inside seemed to know. Who are they? What do they want? What do they fight for?There is a saying on the street: trying to figure out Pledis is like trying to figure out how time moves - you can see, but you cannot ever know.Inspired bythisamazing Nu'VenTin mafia AU on Twitter - go and shower the artist with even more love so we can get an update quicker!Slow on updates, this one.





	1. Soonyoung I - The job goes in an unplanned direction

**Author's Note:**

> *peeks in* Hi?  
Yeah, I know, 5 month hiatus is... yeah. But, I have to say I went through a really nasty time in my life, and I've just started to recover slightly, so forgive me for being silent for so long. I'll be updating Diamond Heart AU and Be One within next two weeks, so be on the lookout!

Kwon Soonyoung couldn't help himself: he let out a long string of colorful curses in both Japanese and his native Korean as he ran down the dark, damp, dirty Seoul alleyway somewhere in Itaewon’s shady core. It was two o’clock in the morning, far too late for any reputable folk to be out and way too early for the party people to be hanging around. The only people out at this time of night were those like him and his pursuers: those who more often than not crossed paths with the law and left law in the ditch as they went on their way.

Naturally, he was not alone: several meters away he could spot distinctive silvery hair that belonged to his immediate second and, technically, the oldest member of his group, Wen Junhui. The older of two recruits from China, Jun was a bit of a loose cannon and had unhealthy fascination with exotic hair dyes, but Soonyoung could work with that, as long as he listened to him when he gave orders. Little further ahead were Lee Chan and Xu Minghao, the two wraiths and absolute pains in Soonyoung’s back with their childish antics and overzealousness. Thankfully, most of the time, he had reliable sweepers to watch his team’s back, so he only had to worry about keeping his eyes on the immediate surroundings.

Tonight, however, this was not the case.

He and his team, better known as Cavalry, had taken on the last-minute job in Itaewon together with their brother teams Artillery and Reconnaissance – the mighty Seventeen, the terror of every Seoul police officer, were on the move. The group was only one of the four active group within Pledis family, one of the mid-scale players in the Seoul criminal underground, but their preference for the swift brutality quickly earned them recognition beyond their family name.

If you wanted something done quickly, cleanly, and with a custom message attached to it, Seventeen was your go-to team. Everyone could do everything: nominally, his team was best with melee, Artillery with long-range support and Recon with espionage, but they could made switches at the drop of the hat and mix and match members without suffering the loss of integrity. Hell, he and Lee Jihoon, leader of Reconnaissance team, had paired up so many times for quick-fix jobs they earned themselves their own nickname HoWoo, a mesh of their street names Hoshi and Woozi, in the underworld!

However, they had one glaring weakness – the numbers. They had thirteen members, which was often more than enough to do the job, but they still needed sweepers to watch for the strays. And now, they had half the team in a blackout, no backup, and what seemed like half the Itaewon’s shady life hot on their heels.

The noise of their pursuers started closing in on them, and Soonyoung’s blood boiled.

“Coups-hyung!” he snarled into his headpiece, keeping an eye on Chan and Minghao who were farther ahead, and Jun who was basically running side-by-side with him. “Anyone from the Artillery! Any update on how much longer we need to hold them off?” He did criss-cross maneuver almost on instinct, dodging an incoming bullet before firing one of his own in the thug’s forehead from his small gun. “We need some backup, like, soon!”

To Soonyoung’s dismay, it wasn’t Seungcheol – S.Coups – that answered.

“_Sorry guys!_” Mingyu panted from the other end of the line, a noise of an automatic and a semi-automatic he and Wonwoo preferred echoing in the background mixed it with human screams. “_Hold on a bit longer! We kind of have our hands full on this side too!”_

“What is taking them so long?!” Soonyoung had half the mind to scream on the poor guy, but he refrained – it’s not like Mingyu was responsible for this clusterfuck of a job.

To be fair, the job wasn’t complicated in on itself – it was the bloody _timing _of it that sucked. After School girls mostly graduated to doing more legal jobs, keeping Pledis’ legal operations that included idol agency squeaky clean, NU’EST had been running small, desk jobs while focusing on the deep-cover mission of keeping ‘Q’ safe for over two years, and boss and Pristin girls had been in so many closed-doors talks recently, they didn’t have much time to keep themselves in tip-top shape for the backup, much less running point. In fact, there had been rumors that the freshest of the four groups under Pledis wanted to split from the family completely, leaving it behind and focusing more on the civilian life.

Soonyoung couldn’t blame them, but he also couldn’t imagine it. Han Sungsoo was his sort-of father figure for so long, as he was for the most of the boys in the family. Seventeen had also become a second family to him, with Seungcheol and Jeonghan as the unwilling parents and the rest of them their bratty children who sometimes behaved their actual age. Stepping away? No, he loved this adrenaline-filled life too much.

However, he would’ve appreciated any help from the other groups in the family. Yes, Seventeen was hailed as Pledis’ bloody best, but even they couldn’t get the job of this size done all by themselves!

Speaking of his team –

“Any sound from the Reconnaissance team?”

“_No hyung_!” Mingyu’s answer make Soonyoung’s heart freeze. “_I guess they’re still cutting off comms for the secure line with the boss._”

Seungcheol had gone dark on them for exactly that reason: the boss suddenly contacted him, and Vernon and the entire Recon team that was his backup had to go dark as well to minimize the risk of anyone overhearing anything.

“Shit!” Soonyoung didn’t have the habit of swearing on the official channels, but neither Jeonghan nor Jihoon were there to scold him, so he let loose. “If only the sweepers were in their position, we wouldn’t need to waste Recon’s resources to support Coups-hyung!”

Really, couldn’t have boss talked things through with Pristin quicker? At the rate things were going, they’d have to call in favors from some of the groups they were friends with to get them out of this mess!

“_Why don’t you save your breath and focus instead of making wishes?_” Wonwoo cut into the comm chatter with icy tone, his weapon deafening in the background.

“_Hyungs, why don’t we just forget the sweepers and clean the way out ourselves?_” Chan snapped, and Soonyoung barely had time to raise his gun to lay cover fire for their youngest and most reckless member as he ran out of his hiding spot. There it was, the recklessness and overzealousness Soonyoung swore would one day kill his little maknae. Soonyoung could’ve sworn he had aged half a decade because of the guy’s actions; and the worst part was, if anything happened to their precious maknae, there would be no force on Earth capable of stopping Yoon Jeonghan from taking revenge.

Quite frankly, Soonyoung didn’t want that scenario to play out. As much fun as it would be seeing Jeonghan go full out, he was damn well aware he would be caught in that storm, and even if he killed himself Jeonghan would find a way to resurrect him just to kill him again.

Better to keep Chan alive and mostly unharmed. If only to insure his own peaceful death.

“Calm down maknae!”

“_What the fuck Dino,_” Minghao cursed as he rushed to help Chan in the standoff, adding on some choice words in Mandarin that made Jun giggle hysterically.

In the whole mess, Soonyoung just caught the sight of Jun running around with no cover and rushed after him, spitting out some choice words of his own.

“Jun, calm down!” Soonyoung shouted at him just as Minghao yelled something similar into the headpiece. The shots from the guns were so loud, an inexperienced fighter would think they were coming from everywhere; Soonyoung, however, spotted a pattern in them, and gestured for Minghao to take cover in the blind spot.

“_Do you think just the four of us can sweep our way out of this mess?_” Minghao kept berating Chan as the four ran over the square into another narrow alleyway where they were less exposed, Minghao dragging Chan and Soonyoung holding Jun’s sleeve hostage.

“_Gods, Cavalry team, don’t get ahead of yourselves,_” Jihoon’s voice drawled, and Soonyoung couldn’t help but smile a little. If Jihoon was back online, the rest of Recon team was also back, and by extension Coups.

“_Everyone -_”

All four members of Cavalry team relaxed as the voice of their overall leader echoed in their headpieces, hiding in a spot with a good line of sight on everything behind them. Finally, news, and hopefully a way out that the boss organized for them.

“_Coups-hyung!_” Mingyu cut him off. “_You better have some good news for us!_”

Soonyoung couldn’t blame him – he could hear Mingyu’s labored breathing, and Wonwoo was probably not much better. Artillery was good, but they weren’t as used to physical part of the job like Cavalry was.

“_Don’t worry, just hang in there a little longer,_” Seungcheol soothed him. “_The backup is on its way here._”

“About damn time the girls came through,” Minghao slumped against the wall, looking very relieved.

“_No, Pristin is not coming._”

Soonyoung tensed. Was Seungcheol implying the rumors were true? Was he saying… they’ve lost Pristin? For good? That one part of their family left the job? Surely, not everyone left! Even After School girls, who seemed to disappeared at a rate of one per year, never actually stopped being involved with them, they just left the shady business behind. To hear Pristin would be actually leaving them entirely...

“_Seungcheol you better be joking -!_” Jihoon hissed over the line, momentarily forgetting to use their codenames, just as shocked as Soonyoung was.

“_Hyung,_” Vernon cut the rant off, and Soonyoung could detect the urgency in normally unflappable mixed boy’s voice. “_Hyung, wait. What Coups-hyung is trying to say is -_”

“_The boss is sending Queen’s Knights,_” Seungcheol said shortly, interrupting Vernon. “_**All five of them**_.”

And, well. Wasn’t _that_ a bomb they hadn’t expected.

Soonyoung distantly registered Seungkwan’s gasp, Jisoo’s English curse and Chan’s heavy breaths, but his mind was spinning with shock. Queen’s Knights were returning on the front line? And all of them? Gods have mercy on their poor, unsuspecting enemies – not that it would last long, they’ll wise up to the return of the five-man horror to streets of Seoul quickly if they want to survive.

It felt unreal. Their seniors and friends NU’EST coming back… it just didn’t compute. Seventeen had a grisly reputation when it came to urban street-fighting due to everyone using firearms, but NU’EST was a stuff of horror fairytales and urban legends. They were the group no one dared to talk about loud, lest the stories made back to them and prompt them to take revenge. Sword-wielding group that many tended to underestimate for the outdated weapons they carried. Unsuited for modern gang life, they said. Too slow, too short of a range, too close to getting killed with everyone else having firearms.

Soonyoung knew better.

He had watched them practice and do missions before he and the rest of Seventeen was cleared for front-line duty. The brutal truth was, they were even worse than Seventeen: more lethal, more dangerous, and more wrathful in their MO. The carnage they left behind was difficult even for him, the leader of Cavalry, to stomach. To put it simply, the only thing left behind NU’EST would be blood painting every surface in ten-meter radius of the bodies like a grotesque, crimson-only Jackson Pollock painting, and savage stabs and slashes from various sword types. Soonyoung knew for fact only Jihoon and Seungcheol could stomach the clean-up after them, having been trained in similar fashion and once slated to join the group; police officers all but universally avoided the sheer mention of their activity, let alone the sight of their mission objectives.

And yet, he was more excited than scared for this. It was about damn time Seventeen got a break, and Pledis to move from their status quo with both police and other families. They had some of the best trainers and support teams in the entire city of Seoul, and the operatives that could adapt to any mission parameters – they just needed consistency with the execution. NU’EST looked like the perfect ticket to getting that.

“_Are they returning for real?_” Wonwoo asked, his voice weak and thin over the line. “_Wait, what happened to ‘Q’ then?_”

“_The boss didn’t explain,_” Seungcheol was completely uninformative, as always. He never talked openly about family matters over the comms on the field. They had the lodgings for that. “_But we should brace ourselves for the carnage on the way out._”

Soonyoung nodded and rose up. Now that he knew who was having his back, he could plan his route and the tactics for his team, instead of just reacting and hoping that Artillery’s cover would take care of the strays.

“Where are they opening the way, Coups-hyung?”

“_Moment._” Seungcheol was silent for about a minute. “_East. Heads up, JR sounded bloodthirsty._”

Soonyoung shuddered. Jonghyun bloodthirsty? Those poor, poor souls.

“Let’s move! We have the orders, move!” Soonyoung roused up his team and headed east-ward.

* * *

Just like he had expected, the first thing they saw once they got out of the alley was blood. Lots and lots of blood surrounding around half a dozen enemy corpses, forming a starburst pattern around them. The signature ‘N’ comprised out of five parallel, uneven-length bars was also there, painted in golden graffiti spray and barely visible in the mess, but Soonyoung also spotted a cluster of red stars and a pinkish inverted triangle with its tips bitten off just beyond the blood trail.

NU’EST were apparently very eager to announce their comeback and their continued alliance with Pledis and Seventeen. Good. Minhyun, Jonghyun,Minki and Dongho had already been poached once for a combined job that left Seventeen and Pristin looking over their shoulder all the time; this declaration of faith was a good sign.

“Jesus, they went scorched earth,” Minghao’s face was gray, but he still looked around himself in fascination. “I heard the rumors about what they can do in China, but holy shit, this is something else.”

Soonyoung only looked at the wounds and shook his head in disbelief. The corpses didn’t look like they were attacked with a sword – they were more similar to how the dummies looked after Wonwoo and Vernon had their way with them with their automatics. They were absolutely _pulverized_ – like a Swiss cheese, but with thin, small holes instead of big, round ones, leaking red liquid everywhere.

“_Schiavona_ stabs – Ren was likely here.” And it seemed like the pretty lotus flower of the group had quite some frustration to vent on the poor souls. Still… “Better him than Baekho.”

“Yeah, please no Baekho,” Chan muttered, carefully sidestepping a pool of blood from one of more intact thugs’ necks. “I love the guy, but that sword of his cuts like a pig. Things always look like Texas Massacre with Chainsaw filming setup when he leaves.”

Soonyoung shuddered in agreement. He had once been on the other end of the broadsword Dongho preferred while he was training and yes, that thing could cut like a pig_ and_ make Texas Massacre movie like a kid flick. The worst part was, Dongho treated it almost like an extension of his arm, able to dance through as many as ten people without getting a single scratch and leaving everyone else either horribly maimed or as good as dead.

“No kidding,” Jun covered his nose with the shirt to stop himself from smelling the odor of the blood and death too much. “Aron’s just as bad, though. That _katana_ of his gives me creeps. Is it true it has poison in the decorations on the blade? Or was Jieqiong just pulling my leg?”

“No idea, actually,” Soonyoung hummed as he finally spotted the clear way eastwards. Ren had cleared them a nearly straight line to the main warehouse Pledis used to conduct business with outsiders – those that didn’t exist in the Seoul criminal underground. Partly a scare tactic, partly a logical choice, Soonyoung nevertheless disliked the place on principle of being far too cliché and obvious. However, it was the most convenient place to meet after a job, and more importantly, it could hold eighteen people inside.

It was a time for a little reunion between NU’EST and Seventeen, and damn it all, Soonyoung couldn’t wait for it.


	2. II. Jonghyun – Settle the dust before it poisons you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NU'EST and Seventeen reunites, some plot for later chapters is laid, and we get some quality Seungcheol-Jonghyun friendship interaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The author of the comic posted the update for the comic, yay! It gave me material for at _least_ one more chapter beside this one, maybe even two. Also, Hinapia(4 ex-Pristin girl + new member) debuted, and Love Me scored 4 wins?? Plus the first one for NU'EST on Music Core?? Guys, I'm sooo happy! 
> 
> Happy b-day Ren! It's not 3rd in my timezone yet, but it is in Korea, so it counts! Actually, today marks exactly a year since I first posted a fic in NU'EST and Kpop fandoms... Wow, it's been ages since I first posted Be One's first chapter. Now I only need to update that smutty extra chapter for Diamond Heart AU, and then Be One is getting an update (I'm aiming for Minghao's and Woozi's birthdays :D).
> 
> The title of this chapter is a veiled reference to Mo Dao Zu Shi, or Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation novel as it's known in English(the C-drama The Untamed is based on it - try it if you like subtle BL stuff and lots of angst and feels, it's great!) - the dust here being the 'corpse dust', or particles of rotten flesh from the dead bodies that can easily make you so ill, you die in a lot of pain. It may of may not be the hint for things to come...
> 
> As always, my [ CC](https://curiouscat.me/RenYoonpabo) is open, as is my fandom [twitter](https://twitter.com/qed_RenYoonpabo)!

Jonghyun leaned on the lamppost, leisurely inspecting the still fresh blood splatters all over his sword. Securing the warehouse against the unwanted eyes and ears was far, far too easy. Then again, he hadn’t been let loose in such, _ such _ a long time, everything seemed so unreal. There was nothing he had ever experienced that could be measured to the adrenaline of the hunt. He didn’t even needed to be one running point; sweeping after his reckless little brothers was exciting enough.

Now, if only said little brothers wouldn’t always be _ late _ and _ loud as sixth circle of hell_!

“_Hyung, hyung_!~” Wonwoo and Mingyu were the first on the scene, Wonwoo dropping his normally cold facade to go over and hug Jonghyun. Mingyu was on him only seconds later, scooping both of his hyungs in a hug, and his excited yapping brought a nostalgic smile on Jonghyun’s face. Minhyun had once called the tall boy ‘golden retriever with bulldog bite’, and the time away had not changed that.

“Wonwoo, Mingyu. Where’re Hansol and Seungcheol?”

“Hitching a ride with Aron, Minhyun and Recon team,” Dongho walked out of the shadows, his broadsword dripping blood in his wake and wide, sweet smile turning his eyes into crescent moons.

Unlike Jonghyun, who managed to keep his suit clean, Dongho’s was splattered with blood and gore; Jonghyun made a mental note to contact their cleaning crew and prepare them. No one deserved to face their messy suits without prior notice.

“So Minki _hyung_’s with Soonyoung?” Wonwoo tilted his head. “I don’t know if I should be happy or scared.”

“Minki volunteered for Recon,” Dongho snorted, clapping him on the back. Mingyu and Wonwoo winced while Jonghyun smiled at their reaction.

“Don’t worry, I’d never let Minki and Seungkwan pair up on family business – I’m not insane.”

“Thank fuck,” Mingyu muttered. “Let’s go inside and change, Wonwoo _hyung_ – I bet you stink almost as much as me.”

“Mh.”

The two disappeared through the warehouse doors, only cracked open enough to allow one person to squeeze through.

“Had fun?”

“What a question,” Dongho laughed, and Jonghyun’s heart squeezed at how carefree he sounded. After such a long time, he could hear his brother’s joy. “I _hated_ our last job. Anything is better than that.”

“I agree,” Jonghyun sighed forlornly. “But that’s a pretty low bar to set.”

“Bah,” Dongho waved it away. “Like I care. At least we’re still in the game. Unlike...”

Jonghyun pursed his lips at Dongho’s unsubtle reminder.

“In the end it’s their choice. I mean, I know how they felt. And I know what kind of things wait out there if they really go through with that plan.”

Dongho frowned, but did not comment.

“Okay, I’ll go in and clean a little. No need to talk in work clothes.”

Jonghyun let him pass by, fixing his gaze to the vector from which Aron, Minhyun and Minki were supposed to come with the rest of Seventeen. He knew he probably shouldn’t think about his sisters-in-arms, but it was impossible. The bank account app he had checked just prior to being dispatched constantly reminded him of the changed situations, both his and Nayoung’s and her girls’. Black Widows of Pledis truly had a worrying amount of offers waiting for them if they decided to part ways with the family – people would be fools not to have them, Jonghyun thought cynically.

Maybe Sungsoo had trained his children too good. Maybe they shouldn’t have been that well rounded, fearsome and likable at the same time.

_ Amazing_, he could still hear Kim Jaehwan’s awed whisper.

_ Fascinating, _ Ong Seungwoo’s murmur when he thought Jonghyun couldn’t hear him.

_ So good, aren’t they?_, Daniel muttered in his partner-in-crime’s ear. _ So, so good. I envy them. Their legend will forever be written in the history. _

_ Leading stars of Pledis. _

_ More like fallen and newly-rising stars, _ Jonghyun spat on the sidewalk as the thought sneaked its way into his head. They may have re-stabilized their position both in Seoul and inside family, gotten better treatment and more freedom, but it was difficult not to be twice shy when you’ve been left to burn once.

“Jonghyun.”

Jonghyun flinched at the greeting, and then relaxed as he recognized the voice.

“Seungcheol.”

His fellow leader smiled widely, opening his arms for a hug.

“God, it feels like years passed,” Seungcheol murmured into his shoulder, and Jonghyun tightened his grip. “I missed you so badly, Jonghyun.”

“I know,” Jonghyun gritted out around the block in his throat. “Missed you and Jihoon, too.”

“Stop being selfish, _hyung_,” said boy snarled, hauling Seungcheol out of Jonghyun’s arms and installing himself there. “Let the rest of us hug Jonghyun _hyung_.”

“And by that, you mean let me hug him,” Jeonghan cackled, leaning on Joshua’s shoulder. “So much for your ‘I don’t like skinship’ story.”

Jihoon hissed like an angry cat, but didn’t release Jonghyun. Seungkwan and Seokmin were snickering behind their hands, and Aron and Minhyun were only giving Jihoon amused looks.

“All clear?”

“M-hm,” Minhyun nodded. “Dongho stole all our fun, though. Why does he have to be so freakishly fast?”

“Shut up, he was enough,” Hansol rolled his eyes at Minhyun’s remark. “I swear, I’m never volunteering for sweeping on your mission. Can’t you guys be a little less messy?”

“Where’s the fun in that, kid?” Aron asked idly, his still unsheathed _katana_ glinting under the lamp light. “_Little fear never hurt anyone._”

“_Agreed_,” Joshua replied to Aron’s English in same language. “I do hope that you didn’t lead police here with the mess.”

“Since when can they even look at the scene without throwing up?” Minhyun tilted his head in his signature 45 degrees tilt.

“Last I heard...” Joshua bit his lip. “Mingming joined organized crime division in China, but is currently liasoning with Seoul’s division. He’ll recognize us and our work instantly.”

Jonghyun blinked, matching the name to the face. Oh. One of Seventeen’s Four Lost. Dongjin who completely disappeared and was presumed dead or in hiding, Doyoon who got away clean and restarted his life, Samuel who only switched allegiances, and Mingming who went back to China and was never heard of again.

“Well, great. We’re fucked,” Jihoon succinctly put everyone’s thoughts. “Thanks for spoiling the mood, _hyung_.”

“Ah, stop worrying about that,” Minki appeared out of nowhere. “I told that to Sungsoo-_abeoji_, and we still have his file with us.”

“Oh,” Joshua nodded, recognizing what that meant.

The moment Mingming came too close to ratting them out, his entire career will be compromised by the implication he was their spy. It was ruthless, but Jonghyun knew the rules.

“Minki _hyung_!” Seungkwan all but jumped onto Minki. “I missed you sooooo much!”

“Missed you too, my sweet, silly _dongsaeng,_” Minki all but cooed, collecting Seungkwan and spinning him around. Hansol visibly frowned at the action, sending Jonghyun into silent peals of laughter, an action Seungcheol reflected.

So, they still said nothing? Those two _ fools_.

“Okay, let’s get inside – oof! Soonyoung you little -!” Jihoon snarled and gave chase after laughing Cavalry team leader, who had hugged Jihoon from behind and placed a noisy kiss on top of his head. Seungcheol followed his co-leaders, still doubled over from silent laughter, and other Seventeen members filtered through until only NU’EST members were left – Dongho joined them noiselessly during that ruckus.

“Nice to be back together in action, right?” Aron commented, smiling softly at his brothers in everything but blood. As the only one who didn’t qualify for the joint operation, he had been the only member stuck with perpetual desk-work and no real-life practice during those long months.

Jonghyun had worried about him the most – not only was he the one who got out of practice, but Minhyun’s extended stay within joint operation made it difficult to transition back to Pledis and their style of life and fighting. Pairing them was a no-brainer for him after refusing Minki’s request, and from the looks of it it went swimmingly.

“Very good,” Dongho agreed. “Cheol seems to still be on good terms with the higher-ups.”

“Let’s not about that,” Jonghyun sighed. He had been on the other side of his brothers’ half-drunk and full-blown drunk rants about Pledis’ unwillingness to compromise sometimes, not allowing them full freedom in picking of their assignments and ways to do things, one time too many. “We’re here to celebrate a job well done.”

“Yeah, life stuff for later,” Minki eagerly nodded. “I really want to reconnect with them.”

“Let’s go,” Minhyun smiled, and NU’EST went inside, closing the doors behind them.

* * *

“Yes, we will authorize you for the joint mission after this,” Han Sungsoo nodded, and Jonghyun exchanged a charged look with Seungcheol.

Joint mission… it had been their dream for so long, ever since they parted ways. NU’EST were forced to leave Jihoon and Seungcheol behind all those years ago – a hurt that only lessened after they learned they would be cleared as a part of new group that was to be their successor. The memory still stung sometimes, but Jonghyun learned to thank God for the roulette of life spinning the way it did. Seungcheol was no brother like Aron, Minki, Minhyun and Dongho, but he was a dear brother-in-arms nonetheless.

It will be an honor to go out and hunt together with him and his children cum brothers.

“So, we only need to find Nayoung, talk to her, and we’ll be cleared?” Seungcheol repeated, just to be sure.

“Yes,” Sungsoo pushed his glasses back. “You know how these girls are. We had parted ways peacefully, due to the mutual respect we hold for each other. However, we still don’t know _why_ they did it the way they did it.”

Jonghyun pursed his lips. He could understand Sungsoo’s worry to a certain degree. It was highly unusual for only a part of the group to leave the business – their bonds usually demanded ‘all or no-one’ policy on these matters. Yewon, Jieqiong and Seungyeon staying with the rest leaving… that was strange, to put it mildly.

What were the girls planning?

Jonghyun had an inkling on what _Nayoung_ was thinking when she decided to part ways, and most of the other girls’ decisions were pretty easy to guess. But Jieqiong and Kyla? Now those were surprises.

In fact, Jonghyun would’ve preferred to get to the bottom of _their_ decisions than Nayoung’s, but boss’ promise for a joint mission was too good to pass up. No matter, he could always ask Seungcheol to sic Minghao and Junhui on Jieqiong, and Aron and Joshua’s contacts in LA would take care of Kyla.

“We’ll do it,” Seungcheol nodded, and Jonghyun could see how his eyes sharpened as he descended into tunnel-vision state of mind everyone in Pledis were taught to develop for the jobs.

“Good.” Sungsoo looked at them with dark eyes. “This is not a kill order, but if she gives you any reason… do not hesitate to shoot to kill.”

Jonghyun mentally reeled at the order, even as Seungcheol acknowledged it. Killing Nayoung? And what, exactly, constituted as ‘reason to kill’? What was going on, exactly? What was not being said?

“I hate this,” Seungcheol sighed, picking at the lapel of his suit jacket. “Nayoungie was with us for so long… why would she want to leave now?”

Jonghyun blinked at the words. _Was Seungcheol serious?_ One look told him that yes, his fellow leader really didn’t understand. Then again, he hadn’t had the experiences Jonghyun and Nayoung had – from lack of solid contact and directives, to muddling through terrible finances and dealing with joint venture’s hazards. Compared to him, he had a far easier time finding his place within the family.

Jonghyun wanted to shake him, but at the same time he couldn’t fault his friend for not truly getting it. He would’ve never wanted for Seventeen to fall where Pristin and NU’EST had once fallen – that place was a living hellhole disguising itself as a paradise. There was no amount of glory and money that could repair the damage the joint venture did to his brothers, and just thinking about Seventeen going through something like that made him want to puke.

“That’s up to us to find out,” Jonghyun pointed out, even though the naggin suspicion told him he already held the answer. “Should we bring any backup?”

“I’d feel better if I had Jeonghan and Jihoon on my back,” Seungcheol admitted with a frown. “But only for long-range support. Everything else will be an overkill. Hey Jihoon, Soonyoung!”

Jonghyun smiled and greeted Seungcheol’s faithful second-in commands and co-leaders with a polite bow.

“Jonghyun _hyung,_ Seungcheol _hyung_!” Soonyoung bounced in one place, his signature 10:10 smile plastered on his face. “What’s up?”

“Had a chat about joint mission between us,” Seungcheol grinned boyishly, and Soonyoung whooped. Jihoon only smirked at them, but Jonghyun see could the excited glint in his eyes.

“Really? That’s amazing!” Soonyoung started hopping in place, almost jumping out of his skin from his excitement. “This is like the dreams coming through for all of right, right _hyungdeul?_”

“True,” Jihoon acquiesced, slamming his hand on Soonyoung’s shoulder and sending him crashing down to the floor with an undignified yelp and a cry of ‘Jihoonie! Mean!’. “Makes me wonder why Sungsoo-_abeoji_ wants to talk with us now.”

“HoWoo solo?” Jonghyun suggested wryly, watching with a great deal of amusement as Soonyoung tried to stand up again, only for Jihoon to kick him down to the floor again. _Nothing changes much here, does it? Soonyoung still being overly clingy to Jihoon, and Jihoon being a grumpy cat who secretly loves the attention. Ah, the memories._

“Could be,” Seungcheol nodded in agreement, doing absolutely nothing to help Soonyoung out of his situation. “But keep the joint mission in mind when negotiating the deal with _abeoji_. We don’t want to start without the two of you, okay?”

“No problem _hyung_,” Jihoon nodded solemnly, finally letting Soonyoung stand up, and marched to the office Jonghyun and Seungcheol just left.

“Those two never change, do they?” Jonghyun smiled at Seungcheol.

“Of course not,” Seungcheol moaned in exaggerated exasperation. “Why would they make my life any easier?”

“Eh, that’s what you get for letting them bully you,” Jonghyun shrugged, well aware that he was no better – the fact Seungcheol didn’t fail to remind him of.

“Like you’re any better, _perfect leader-nim_,” Seungcheol punched Jonghyun lightly in the shoulder, and Jonghyun playfully jumped away from the contact. “You let Minki and Minhyun walk all over you when they’re being pouty.”

“You try saying no to Minki, I dare you,” Jonghyun snarked, an old urge to sit down and compare their notes on the unruly bunch of children they had to lead reigniting in his chest. “And Minhyun has too much of a blackmail material on me to let me off the hook when he really wants something.”

“Okay, yeah, I get it,” Seungcheol sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I have triple the problem with pouty-eyes. Have a little sympathy, Jonghyun-ah.”

“I can’t have sympathy when one of those eyes is Yoon ‘The Conman’ Jeonghan,” Jonghyun cackled. “I _warned_ you what would spoiling him result in, but you didn’t listen! _Oh, he’s such an angel, Jonghyun-ah_,” he mock-imitated Seungcheol’s voice. “_How can I ever say no to him? It’s not like he’s asking for much!_”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, I get it, I was an idiot for letting Jisoo and Jeonghan walk over me,” Seungcheol muttered sulkily. “But please, a little sympathy?”

“Nope. None from me, mister Choi.”

“Ass.”

“Thank you, I work hard for it.”


End file.
